Presidential Election Reform Act not enough to fix an outdated bias

The Presidential Election Reform Act, a ballot initiative that would weaken the winner-takes-all Electoral College voting system in California, does not go far enough to fix an outdated bias.

Currently, California winners of the presidential election take all 55 electoral votes. Under the new proposal, each of California's 53 districts would get to award 1 vote to their winning candidate, and the winner of the statewide majority would be awarded just two extra electoral votes.

Two other states have adopted this method of vote counting. It would mean a weaker Democratic party in California... but a more accurate reflection of this state's voters.

The winner-takes-all system effectively means that everyone who voted for a minority candidate in one state (who may have been a majority candidate in another) has their vote miscounted for the people they voted against. (Voting for the lesser of two evils means voting against candidates.) In an especially populous state such as California, the majority vote is made stronger because of California's size--but a powerful vote is still a miscounted vote if it's not going to the candidate you voted for.

To make things really fair, we'd need this ballot initiative passed nationwide, so that democrats voting in Republican states wouldn't have their votes miscounted. The Reform Act, while more fair to voters on a statewide level, gives an unfair nationwide advantage to the Republicans unless it is enacted in, say, Texas too.

Certainly, don't believe the Republicans in our state are a voiceless minority to be pitied, as portrayed on a recent airing of the Colbert Report. In fact, thanks to the 2/3 majority California needs to change the budget, constitution, pass taxes, or ... well... get anything done, the minority party ends up holding or withholding the crucial votes on major decisions in the state. The fact remains that the Electoral College gives all its power to the party, and no power to the individual.

The system was designed to keep ignorant masses from mucking up the elite game of politics. Today, however, people are literate. Education is one of our top values. The USA has learned before: the electoral system can betray the popular vote--and why should intelligent, issue-aware voters allow that to happen? Changing the system to awarding votes per district brings us one step closer to a reasonable system that is right for everyone.

Thanks to district gerrymandering, it's easy to predict what district votes for what party. Roughly 20 congressional districts of California's 53 vote Republican. Party numbers won't shift overnight, but envision a future where California becomes a contested state, where candidates are forced to take the state's support seriously in their bid for presidency, and not simply chalk it up as a "blue state." As things are now, we're basically ignored by candidates.

Let's push for an updated, more accurate system. Get rid of the electoral college. The Presidential Election Reform Act doesn't go far enough to rid us of the outdated bias against an entire populace. It is a small step that should be taken nationwide to preserve a democracy that can be all about empowering the individual.